Manufrance Policeman

The Policeman was made by Manufacture Francaise D’Armes ET Cycles De Saint-Etienne which was later renamed Manufrance from 1922 to 1968. Le Français (Le Francais) semi-automatic pistols were originally developed in 1913 by French small arms designer Etienne Mimard. This small pistol was intended for use by police in the smaller cities of France in the period between the World wars. It is distinguished from the standard 25 caliber Manufrance pistols by the longer barrel. The action is double action only with a tip-up barrel for loading the first round into the magazine. There is no provision for manual cycling of the slide. After the first shot it loads from the magazine. The grips are checkered black hard rubber with an “MF” logo surrounded by wreath at the top of each grip. The front sight is a rounded blade fixed to the top of the barrel. The rear sight is a “U” groove in a raised boss at the back of a spring, which engages notches in the breech plug to hold it in place. Pistols made after 1934 had a ring at the base of the magazine which held a spare cartridge for inserting into the chamber.